For the first time, the two postal administrations of Hong Kong, China and France have issued a joint stamp series devoted to Art, to vintage paintings and contemporary sculptures from the two countries/territories in particular.

This series comes to remind us the rich artistic heritage of France and of this China' SAR but also the great passion for Art they share (China has became the first global art market).

No less than four stamps have been issued, in preview sale on May 3, 2012, showing two paintings of the 19th century with a similar color palette and realistic style as well as two sculptures dating from the 20th century inspired by animals.

This is the 12th joint stamp issue between Hong Kong and another postal administration.

I was lucky enough to receive the two covers below franked respectively with the complete series issued in Hong Kong and France !

The first registered letter above was mailed from Hong Kong on the first day of issue. Thank you very much Kun :-)

Kun has explained to me that the Post of Hong Kong does not curiously allow users to apply FDC cancellations on covers sent by registered mail ??

The mention "TSW" on the hand postmarks used here refers to the Tsuen Wan Post Office.

The two stamps to the left ($ 1.40 and $ 2.40) are devoted to the works of art from Hong Kong : a painting (by an unknown Chinese author dating from 1860) depicting the Castle Douglas, a neo-classical building part today of the main university complex in Hong Kong and a sculpture "Crab #4" by artist Cheung Yee (born 1936) from The Hong Kong Museum of Art.

Kun has also used, to the left, three identical stamps ($ 1.40) being part of a nice definitive series (16 stamps, issued on December 31, 2006) devoted to birds, to the Fork-tailed Sunbird (Aethopyga christinae) here.

The French version of this series appears on the cover above mailed from Lyon on May 11, 2012.

Contrary to Hong Kong, the French Post has, as usual, attributed the nominal value corresponding to standard domestic postal rate (€ 0.60) for the two stamps showing foreign works. A good idea I think because it allows many people in France to discover this artistic heritage from Hong Kong !

The two other stamps, reproducing works by French artists, correspond to the Zone 2 (that includes Hong Kong) postal rate, currently € 0.89.

"The Horse" (1914, Musée National d'Art Moderne de Paris), the most famous work by French Cubist sculptor Raymond Duchamp-Villon (1876-1918) is reproduced on one of these two stamps. The other work is a painting by Edgar Degas (1834-1917) entitled "At the Races", an oil painting kept at the Musée d'Orsay. This painting evokes Degas' passion for horse racing (and not only for dancers...).

To note that the stamps issued in Hong Kong do not mention the titles of the works and their authors...

The Hongkong Post has also issued this stamp set in a souvenir sheet, I will speak about very soon on this blog !